- The Observer, Sunday January 1 2006
Martina Hingis, the former queen of women's tennis, has been practising her skills in Australia in preparation for one of the most eagerly-anticipated comebacks in sporting history.
The former world number one and five-time Grand Slam winner, who is only 25, has been out of the game for three years after retiring in early 2003 due to a persistent ankle injury.
But tomorrow the Swiss player will attempt to regain her former status when she plays in the first round of the Australian women's hardcourt championships in Gold Coast, near Brisbane. Her opponent is Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela, ranked 63rd.
Hingis, who won Wimbledon in 1997 aged just 16, said: 'I've had a very nice quiet life back home without the stress and travel, but I miss playing. I miss the game. I'd wake up in the morning and sometimes I'd have no reason to wake up, and that's what was missing.'
